Archives - 24 May 2012, Thursday

In a historic vote Wednesday, the L.A. City Council voted overwhelmingly to enact a ban on plastic bags -- becoming the most largest city in the United States to push towards more eco-friendly alternatives. Under the measure, passed by a 13 to 1 vote, stores throughout L.A. will be re...

It is estimated that Californians use 12 billion plastic bags a year — and that less than 5 percent of those bags are recycled. But that number is destined to dwindle now that the Los Angeles City Council has voted 13 to 1 to phase out plastic shopping bags over the next 16 months at ...

DECC is introducing regulations today to put the Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) scheme on a more predictable, certain and sustainable footing for householders, businesses and the solar industry. Following detailed consultation with industry and consumers, the Government is introducing a range...

Green businesses are being urged to overhaul their design and supply operations, after a new report by consultancy Accenture revealed that many firms selling environmentally-friendly products are struggling to keep up with consumer demand. The new survey of 250 senior executives in th...

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Regulations proposed in Massachusetts by the state's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will ban commercial businesses, including hotels, from discarding food waste. Greg Cooper, director of consumer programs for the DEP, expects the regulations to be implemented by the midd...

If you’ve noticed more carrot-crunching, more orange-peeling, and an abundance of leafy green salads lately, it’s probably not a coincidence. As The Washington Post reported earlier this week, Americans eat more fresh foods than they did five years ago . The WaPo story was based on a ...

In developing this landmark program, the City Council took a measured and reasoned approach. The framework includes a six-month educational period of the ordinance where no ban is in place. After that initial six months, larger stores must phase out single use plastic bags. Twelve mon...

She’s off to school, with helmet on head and doll in tow. (Photo by carfreedays.) A small federal program is punching holes through the unsafe barricade of freeways, busy roads, and rushed drivers that surround the nation’s schools. Yet despite the program’s success, Congress is now t...

Whether they’re fat and juicy like this guy’s or more slender in appearance, a starfish’s appendages are called arms, or rays. Though all the starfish pictured here have five arms – which is typical of the creatures – they can have even more. Of the some 2,000 species, some often have...

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The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Buildings (EEPB) are hosting a series of breakfast briefings for the supply chain to find out more about the opportunities offered to you by the Green Deal. The Green Deal, to begin in autumn ...

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Mat recently took a look at a new report from NRDC that found that thanks to climate change, most American cities will be seeing an exponential uptick in heat-related deaths. This one shouldn't come as much of a shocker—as the world heats up, more people will perish from heat-related ...

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24 May 2012: Los Angeles Becomes Largest U.S. City to Ban Plastic Bags Los Angeles has become the largest U.S. city to impose a ban on plastic bags at supermarkets and other Facing the Dirty Truth About Recyclable Plastics The recyclable plastic bags you get at the green grocer are no...

, naturopath Alan Logan and Harvard physician Eva Selhub cite dozens of studies that demonstrate the health benefits of the natural world. They even refer to outdoor physical activity as "exercise squared" because it can increase energy and fitness levels while reducing fatigue, depre...

Historic News as L.A. Bans Plastic Bags in Stores 0 Tweet by Crystal Wiltshire May 24, 2012 Categories: Causes , Environment Tags: ian somerhalder , rosario dawson . Los Angeles has made history by becoming the largest city in the U. S. to approve a ban on plastic bags at supermarket ...

May is National Hamburger Month, and Memorial Day weekend is often regarded as the unofficial start of summer (aka grilling season). What better way to celebrate this time of year than with an ode to the veggie burger? Veggie burgers are versatile, easy to prepare, and SO much healthi...

Like the ephemeral nature of earthworks and Hindu Kolams , such is the nature of the tattooed banana. With a banana peel as your medium, there is little hope of preservation for prosperity -- unless you find good fortune in banana bread . Your work will slowly transform from art to mu...

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Watch out, Nestle Purina! A very angry mob of pet owners is headed to your door — and don’t be surprised if they come with torches and pitchforks. The word on the street is that you are selling tainted dog treats that nearly a thousand pet owners claim have either made their dog serio...

Walmart (NYSE: WMT) continues to outdistance other firms with the sophistication and scale of its sustainability program for its more than 100,000 suppliers, which stretch beyond purveyors of organic cheese and eggs to makers of the blenders, weed whackers and sweatshirts that fill it...

It’s so close they can taste it. The small but powerful rescue team known as “Dogs in Brazil” is tied for first place in a contest run by the Australian investment firm Sunsuper. In just seven days, Dogs in Brazil could win a $5,000 first place prize for their work, and the Care2 audi...

24 May 2012: Carbon Emissions Reached Record Levels in 2011, Report Says Global carbon dioxide emissions reached record levels in 2011 , driven largely by a 9.3-percent increase in Chinese emissions, according to a new report by the International Energy Agency (IEA). According to prel...

Doctors offices aren't the only ones converting lawns into food these days. We've been following UMass Amherst students' efforts to turn campus lawns into no-dig gardens for some time now. The innovative initiative even won recognition in the White House Campus Champions of Change Cha...

OK, this is a pretty oversimplified depiction of the relationship between corporate interests, farmers, and consumers — but that means it’s a good starting point for anyone who isn’t sure how subsidies for corn and soy led to a food system where processed crap is not only common but, ...

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Utilities around the U.S. are cranking out smart meters. A new report by the Institute for Electric Efficiency states that as of May 2012, almost one-third of households have a smart meter compared to one-fourth in September 2011, a huge increase in just eight months. The installation...

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Indonesia revises moratorium map; makes contested orangutan forest off-limits (05/22/2012) Indonesia is making 'encouraging' progress on its push to reduce deforestation by improving governance over its forests and peatlands, but still needs to do more to enforce environmental laws, s...

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Chuck Kennedy for the White House /Public Domain President Obama just finished posing for a photo op at a wind turbine manufacturing plant in Iowa/calling on Congress to preserve clean energy tax breaks. He's making it a point to single clean energy out as a source of job creation and...

is a Zimbabwe correspondent for the UK-based magazine, Think Africa Press . His work has won numerous honors, including the Environment Africa Award for reporting on the effects of global warming and climate change on rural communities in Zimbabwe. He has also served as a Knight Scien...

It’s always nice when someone writes an article so you don’t have to. In this case it was New York Times columnist Nick Kristof, who has been doing the thankless job of writing about the health risks of toxic chemicals in our environment, as well as the politicization of the regulator...

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR ) has partnered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to encourage its fans and its supply chain to support innovative green products and sustainable business strategies . NASCAR officials signed on to a memorandum of ...

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[Editor's note: This is part of a month-long series on food sustainability by Marc Gunther .] I’ve just returned from the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Cooking for Solutions conference feeling optimistic about the potential to change the way we grow food, cook and eat. Maybe it’s the wine, ...